Only Hope
by YourMoosyFate
Summary: Raven has a song stuck in her head and it seems like there is no way to get it out. Maybe a little help wouldn't hurt...


**(A/N) Warning: This is really fluffy and could possibly force you to gag if you don't like fluff. I wrote it for Banana Babe903's songfic contest. I couldn't come up with anything, and suddenly heard this song. I dunno, I thought it fit. The song is 'Only Hope' by Mandy Moore. You may know it from "A Walk To Remember". (It may work better if you put it on repeat, but that's merely a suggestion). Anyway, on with the fic!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or Mandy Moore's music.**

_There's a song that's inside of my soul._

"Indeed there is." Raven felt foolish at the way this song spoke to her. She didn't have time to get silly whimsical songs stuck in her head, she was a hero. She didn't have time to listen to the lyrics over and over and over again. Most of all, she definitely didn't have time to fantasize about a stupid, annoying, obnoxious, loud, arrogant, infuriating, aggravatingly adorable boy!

_It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again_

At least the song was stuck in her head by all of her emotions. Sometimes, on off days, she would get various different songs stuck in her head. A different one for every emotion. Those were the days when she wanted the villains to put her out of her misery, just to resist the urge to start humming.

_I'm awake in the infinite cold._

Raven couldn't help glancing at the clock. It was one o'clock AM and she was still lying awake and thinking about_ him._ He refused to leave her alone!

_But you sing to me over and over and over again._

Of course, everyone could tell she secretly liked it.

Or could they?

Raven wasn't sure. Sometimes she thought she was painfully obvious, while others she was sure no one could possibly tell. She hoped for the latter, it would cause less heartache. Yet, as strange as it seemed, some strange and remote part of her hoped for the former.

Part of her wanted him to notice the small smiles she allowed herself when she thought no one was watching. Part of her longed for him to see the faint twinkle in her eyes every time he told a corny joke. Some annoying part of her secretly begged for him to know that she thought he was adorably cute. Some _stupid_ part of her wished he could know how much she needed him. How he was like a shining beacon of light to balance out her darkness. Part of her wanted him to see.

The empath fell back onto her pillow.

_So, I lay my head back down._

_And I lift my hands and pray_

_To be only yours, I pray, to be only yours_

_I know now you're my only hope._

The song was on infinite repeat. Even when she finally flipped the mute button on her computer, she could still hear it. Over and over again. She could feel the words. She lay that way, internally listening to the haunting melody.

Finally, after what seemed like hours the sun came up, and she was still lying awake in her cold, dark room, replaying the song for the umpteenth time.

She could practically see him laughing; dancing around; coming up with another one of his stupid schemes. It was so infuriatingly cute!

_Sing to me the song of the stars._

_Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again._

She turned over, banishing the image from her mind. She could _not_ keep doing this to herself.

_When it feels like my dreams are so far_

Raven shoved herself out of bed. She couldn't keep this up anymore. It had to stop.

She grabbed a fresh uniform and headed for the shower. What did it matter that it was only 5:30 in the morning, and she usually slept in for another hour? No one would be awake to know, and she had to do something now.

She rushed down the hallway, her bare feet slapping against the cold wood floor. She could have flown, or even portal-ed to the bathroom, but that all seemed to surreal right now. She needed to be forced back into reality. She needed to get that blasted song from her mind.

She shut the door to the bathroom behind her with an audible thud. Raven turned the water on full blast and scalding. As it beat down on her, she still couldn't help but hear that song. She began to hum softly, breaking her usual monotone and actually trying to hit the pure notes that the song seemed to bathe in.

No one would hear it, as the bathroom was in a separate hallway from the bedrooms. It was inconvenient, and the rest of the Titan's were in the process of convincing Robin to renovate. They each wanted their own bathroom so that the bathroom wars could finally end.

Roughly ten minutes later, she was dressed and heading to the common room. She needed tea.

"Mornin' Rae. What'cha doin'?" Raven jumped higher than most could, her shock boosting her powers to give her extra height. She dropped her mug of tea, and it shattered across the floor, little pieces making a twinkling sound as they rained to the floor. "Sorry!"

"It's fine, Beast Boy." She answered in her famous monotone. She used her powers to pick up the pieces and throw them into the trash, and grabbed another glass.

"Are you okay? You usually notice me before I sneak up on you." Raven fought not to blush at the concerned look on her face.

'Stop it!' She berated herself. 'It's just Beast Boy.' She didn't trust herself to answer him. She pulled her hood up and shrugged.

"Oh, I know what'll cheer you up! I've got a new joke! Wanna hear it?" He seemed so excited, she thought briefly.

"I can hardly contain my excitement." She answered in flat voice, though she was curious. His lame jokes had a special charm about them. Maybe it was the way his face would light up when he told them, or maybe it was the way that he always told them to her to get her to laugh and it made her feel slightly special. She wasn't sure, but she loved it.

She rolled her eyes at the corny-ness. No matter how adorable, the jokes weren't laugh-aloud funny. They were 'wow-that-was-so-bad-it-was-almost-good' funny, and she couldn't let them get past her barriers.

"You just wait! I'm going to get you to smile some day, you won't even see it coming!" He didn't seem discouraged at all by her disinterested demeanor. In fact, he seemed almost re-invigorated.

_Sing to me of the plans that you have for me over again._

"Why are you here?" She asked him suddenly. He seemed a tad hurt by her question.

"I -I live here?" He seemed uncertain of his answer. She stared blankly at him for a moment before realizing how he must have taken the question.

"Don't be dense Beast Boy," was the closest she could bring herself to an apology. "I meant, what are you doing up so early?" He was never up so early. No one was ever up this early...except her for the past few weeks since hearing that song. She thought about trying to go back to her room to sleep, but she didn't see it happening anytime soon. She didn't miss the nightmares, but she definitely missed sleeping.

_So I lay my head back down._

"Couldn't sleep." He answered with a shrug. "Yourself?" He didn't mention that he couldn't sleep because all he could hear all night was the song that Raven was listening to on repeat, or how he'd gotten up because he heard her get up. He definitely didn't mention that he'd sat outside the bathroom to listen to her sing the same song.

_And I lift my hands and pray_

_To be only yours, I pray, to be only yours_

"Same." She answered curtly.

"Any particular reason? You seem out of it lately. You're always zoning out, and you look tired all the time." Raven was embarrassed, but also slightly touched that he'd taken notice of her odd behavior. She shrugged again. "You know, you can always talk to me Raven." He said softly, with a rare but serious look on his face.

_I know now, you're my only hope._

"I...it's really nothing to worry about." She couldn't tell him. He would never look at her the same way again. Everything would be weird. She would look like a fool.

"If it's bothering you, then it's definitely something to worry about." He still had that serious, intense look on his face. Raven squirmed under his gaze. His boyish charm was endearing, but when he had moments like this she always found that she couldn't make eye contact with him. It was too much. She would give herself away.

"I-" She seemed unable to finish. Her voice left her in a whoosh as she stared blankly at his feet. She watched as they moved closer to her and gulped.

"Raven, look at me." He commanded, pulled her hood back down.

'Don't look him in the eyes!' She screamed at herself.

"Raven? What's wrong?" He put a hand under her chin and forced her to face him, but she shut her eyes tightly to keep from telling on herself. She could faintly feel his breath on her face. How close was he?

_I give you my destiny._

She couldn't help it. She looked.

There he was only a foot and a half away from her face. One hand gently cupped her chin in what could be easily be taken as a romantic gesture. His green eyes pierced her. She felt a blush rise to her cheeks.

_I'm giving you all of me._

_I want your symphony, singing in all that I am_

"Raven, please talk to me." He said in almost a whisper.

It was over and she knew it. She couldn't take it. The force of those eyes upon her was too much. She could feel them break the last of her resolve.

_At the top of my lungs, I'm giving it back._

She rushed forward in less than a second and suddenly her lips were against his. His reaction surprised her. Rather than push her away and demand what happened to the last of her sanity, he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She broke away with a gasp.

"What?" She asked him confusedly.

"I'm sorry." He took a step away from her, his eyes were panicked.

"Why are you apologizing? I kissed you."

"Because I...y-you did?" He seemed completely baffled.

"Yes. I was confused because...it sorta seemed like...you kinda...kissed me back." She answered with an absurd blush.

_So I lay my head back down._

Beast Boy took a cautious step towards her. She looked embarrassed and dejected at the same time, and he couldn't help but grin. She seemed unsure, and he found it incredibly cute as the empath was never unsure.

"Well of course." He decided to leap off the edge. He knew things would change no matter what now, so why try and hide it anymore. "Who wouldn't kiss you back, Raven?"

Raven glanced up in shock. What'd he just say?

"Besides, just because you're more brave than I am, doesn't mean that I haven't been dying to do that since I met you."

"Really?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Never in a million years would she have guessed that he would want to kiss her.

_And I lift my hands and pray_

_To be only yours, I pray, to be only yours_

_I pray, to be only yours_

"Really. I apologized because...I thought that _I_ kissed _you_ first, and I didn't want you to be mad. Are you mad?" He asked nervously.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm not mad. I'm...happy. I never thought that you would _want_ to kiss me back."

"How could you say that? You're Raven." She looked confused, and Beast Boy felt it was important to elaborate. "I mean, you can't not know how beautiful you are. You have to know that you're the strongest, bravest, kindest person I know. Even when you're throwing me into the ocean for another stupid attempt to make you laugh, your hair falls around your face just right and the light always hits it just so...so that it shines. Even when your glaring at me, you have a softness in your eyes. Even when the world is against you, you hold your head high and dare it to try harder. You're...the best person I know."

Raven was bewildered. Beast Boy really thought those things about her? "I...really?"

He smirked at the look on her face. "Really." He took another step forward and gave her a soft, unsure kiss. He was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back passionately.

Raven finally felt at ease. She never would have imagined anything like this. When they finally pulled apart, they were both breathing raggedly.

"Wanna hear another joke?" He asked. She rolled her eyes. Only Beast Boy. It didn't bother her though. It didn't ruin the moment, because he was simply being himself. It simply made the moment better. He grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. "I thought that you didn't like me." He said with a huge smile.

Raven couldn't help it. She grinned.

_I know now you're my only hope._


End file.
